Cyber Defense Assistance Evaluation Framework

The ongoing war in Ukraine represents an evolution in modern warfare, as Russia continues to conduct cyberattacks against Ukrainian infrastructure, government, and companies alongside conventional attacks. From the onset of the war, the Cyber Defensive Assistance Collaborative (CDAC) has been at the forefront of delivering cyber defense assistance (CDA) to Ukrainian organizations, contributing to Ukraine’s success in defending against Russian cyberattacks to date. However, the early ad-hoc approach of CDAC, coupled with data sensitivity and organizational challenges, has hindered transparent reporting and evaluation of its effectiveness in supporting Ukrainian cyber defense needs. Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) graduate students developed a report and framework for evaluating CDA effectiveness. Based on relevant open-source research and a review of existing evaluation frameworks in areas such as cybersecurity, defense assistance, and foreign and development aid, the resulting framework identifies five key pillars: Operational Success, Efficiency, Strategic Planning, Friction, and Sustainability. The framework provides a three-phased approach designed to enable users to prioritize certain aspects of evaluation – operational, strategic, and organizational – at different points of conflict and CDA provision. In the face of future conflicts, this framework can help to refine and assess the effectiveness of CDA to defend nations under attack in the cyber domain.